Love your clothes and Bangor University are organising several manifestations to promote clothing sustainability from 11-16 March. Workshops, clothes swapping, talks and masterclasses were set up to help reducing the amount of clothes thrown away- 350, 000 tonnes every year in the UK. Catrin Palfrey from Love Your Clothes, said:
“Four out of every five adults have not worn some of their clothes in the last 12 months. We want to work with the people of Bangor to reduce the impact of clothing on the environment in a fun and engaging way by encouraging people to donate clothing, to buy second hand, to care for their clothes more effectively and to learn the basic, often forgotten, skills of fixing.
“We urge the local people of Bangor to get involved in donating clothes to charity by bringing down a bag to the pop-up shop in Bangor from March 7th onwards.”
The Love Your Clothes pop-up store was provided by Bangor Town Centre Partnership and is located in Deiniol Shopping Centre. This is the place where the collection bag, that were distributed in the students accommodations, are brought filled with good quality clothes people have “fallen out of love” with. It is also the place for sewing workshops from 14-16 March.
The campaign encourages people to care for their clothes in order to make them last longer, to get creative with old clothes by personalising them, and to make the most of them through reparation or by opting for a “capsule wardrobe” (having only few, basic clothes that easily match).
Love your clothes is part of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) which brings clothing retailers, brands, suppliers, local authority representatives, end of life organisations recyclers, charities, academics and the public to work together so as to reduce environmental footprint of clothing and prevent waste. This comes in a logic of circular economy : keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life insure less waste and less carbon footprint. It is not only better for the planet but also for the economy.
The SCAP 2020 engagement, which is coordinated by WRAP, a not-for-profit organisation supported by UK Governments, sit along with other sector initiatives such as Ethical Trading Initiative, Greenpeace ‘Detox’ commitment, etc.
Dr Einir Young, Director of The Sustainability Lab, explains that this project is in line with Bangor University’s values:
“Bangor University has long held an aspiration to become ‘the sustainable university’, but we are aware this is not a journey we take alone. These events are a fantastic example of what can be achieved when staff, students and the wider community come together with a common goal.”
The event was supported by Bangor University and charities such as British Heart Foundation Cymru. For further information and to book workshops visit www.loveyourclothes.org.uk/bangor.
